Container closing apparatus



Aug. 8, 1950 s. w. D ENI\IIIS ETAL 4 CONTAINER CLOSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 djz'anlqy Wile nnfis, EdJar'Jiemphen Aug.'8, 1950 s. w. DENNIS EIAL 8,

CONTAINER CLOSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 14 .9 Y. 3 ji'anleywflenmaf} Man? Jiensphen,

1950 s. w. DENNIS ETAL 2,518,294

CONTAINER CLOSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .Ejdyur Jfiempken,

in accordance with the invention,

Patented Aug. 8, 1950 CONTAINER CLOSING APPARATUS Stanley W. Dennis and Edgar lzlenschen, Hallie more, Md., assignors to Crown Cork & Seal- Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md. a corporation of New York Application January 24, 1947, Serial N.i-a3,9'87 i This invention relates to container closing apparatus of the type comprising. ahead by means of which closures are applied to contain ers as the result of the intermittent relative approach of the head and successive containers, and including means by which closures are transferred from a magazine to position for' applica;-

tion between each closing action. One object of the invention is to provide, in s'uc'h apparatus,

improved transfer means in the form of a slide arranged to transport a closure, detached from a stack in the magazine, to applyingposition and support it in this position for application; An-

other object is to provide improved drive'me'fans for the slide. Another'object' is topr'ovide means whereby apparatus primarily designed for the handling of closures are certain diameter may be readily converted to handle closures of a smaller diameter. These and other objects are attained in the illustrative apparatus shown in theaccompanying drawings'in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a capping'hea'd Figure 2 is a side elevation of the h'eado-f Figure 1 broken away in part,

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a section on line 44 of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a'plan view, enlarged, of a stack feed finger of whichthree appear in Figure 4,-

. Figure 6 is an end elevation of the finger of Figure 5, I

' Figure 7 is'a section substantially on line 7-1 of Figure 3,

I Figure 8 is a section on line 8--8 of Figure 7 with parts removed, v

Figure 9 is a partial view like that of Figure 3 with parts indifferent relation, I l Figures 10 and'll are sections on lines Ill-l9 and I l-'l I, respectively, of'Figure '7, Figure 12 is a plan view of an adapter fitting,

Figure 13 is an elevation of the fitting of Figure *12 as seen from the right of the latter figure,

Figure 14 is a, section on line 14-14 of Figure 12, i Figure 15 is a'section on line 15-15 of Figure Figure 16 is asection on line |6-I6 of Figure 115 I V 7 h Figure 1'7 is a partial elevation, somewhat enlarged, of the head as seen from'the right of Figure 2 with parts broken away, and

Figure 18 shows in elevation a stack of closures, somewhat enlarged, such as the particular apparatus illustrated is designed to apply. Basically," the'illustrated head is like that shown in 'Fig-ure ll ofwth'e patent to Huntleyaxetealu providing a system in which'the new. head is 1,956,218 of April 24, 1934. In the saidFigure 11, the closures are shown as beingrelatively'f lat although somewhat circumferentially shouldered. The caps shown in Figure 18 of the pres.-

l rsi tawie s r cit l tre d ose in e epending application of Stanley W. Dennis, Serial No. 723,630, filedl llanuary 2 2, "1947,,nowPatent N 2,497,870 of February'21, 19501 The cap generally designated at 20" has a" circular top wall 21, a depending andl'an out-turndiradially corrugated peripheral flange 23". The skirt is slightlyfshouldered peripherally at 24 whereby to prevent undue nesting of the caps when stacked and to maintain the'fiang'es avsubstantialdistance apart. For a given size ofbottle, the original blanks both for the closureshown in'Figure 11 ofthe patent and Figure .18 of'thepreseht drawingshave the same, diameter. "However, due

to the substantial depth of theskirt in the case of the cap 26, this cap is of substantially smaller overall diameter than the cap of the patent.

While the inventionis byi' no meanslimited'fto conversion features, one ofits objects, as previously stated, is to provide'meanswhereby apparatus like that of the patent. can readily .be ;convertedfor thenhandling'ofthe smaller di- .ameter caps- I Referring.particularlytc Figuresl, 2 3,

the capping, head comprisesfalbr'acket 25 in the form Tof a -c ylinder, and in the present instance thebracket is provided with top and bottom sets of .ears ,26 Zl and 28, 29, rendering it mountable on a rotary turret in the manner disclosed in the .patent to gtewart and Franz, No.. 2,31'1,786 of February2 3, 19l3, thispatehtbeing referred to as well adapted for use though tyne means limited thereto- Splined in the bracket for, vertical reciprocation is-the cylindrical stem portion of athroat carrier 3l-, the top of thestem carrying ,a roller-s for. the purpose disclosed in jthejsaid Stewart and Franz patent. The carrier includes a base block 32 which provides a circular throat chamber 33 coaxial withthe stem, an enpansible throatj 34 being disposed in the chamber surrounding relation to a presser foot 35. The'spring .36 which urges the throat and a foot abutment 31 upwardly seats at its lower end on aplate 38 supported through a tongueand groove. at. one end and at its-other end by a pin 33 which extends between vertical flanges 4E) andii, Figure 117, at the. rear end of block 32, plate 38 having ano'pening in'which the throat is freely received.

' This structure is all like that of the Huntley and cRau patent v 7 l z At its outer end, block 32 is provided with a vertical cylindrical aperture 42 whose otherwise flat top margin is provided with equi-distantly spaced radially extending recesses 43, 44 and 45, these recesses having flat bottoms in the same horizontal plane. The opening 42 in the present instance is of a diameter to' pass with Slight clearance' the relatively=flat caps of the Huntley and Rau patent. According to the present invention, an adapter fitting in the form of a sleeve 46, see also Figures 12 to 16, has a lower portion 41 snugly inserted in opening 42" and" an upper annular shoulder 48 seating'on the margin of opening 42 and secured thereon by means of taper headed screws threaded into block'32 through openings 49 in the shoulder. The shoulder is flattened at 50 to fit against the flat outer face- 5I, Figures 3 and 4, of the base block. The shoulder is circumferentially undercut or rabbeted at 52 to provide a groove 53 in conjunction with theunderlying margin of aperture 42. Internally the sleeve=surfacehas an upper portion 54 which tapers downwardly to a cylindrical portion 55 whose diameter is slightly greater than that of the capsZIl, and as here shown, there is a somewhat enlarged cylindrical surface portion 56 'belowportion 55, The inner lower margin of the sleeve is cut away at 51, leaving a full depth portion 58 which has a horizontal'lower edge. Formed in the sleeve are three horizontally elongated slots 59; 50 and 5| "which are respectively opposite the re'cessesiij 44'and 45;" the slots lying between horizontal planes of which the lower one, as hereshown, intersects the cylindrical surface 55 while the top one intersects the lower part base block and sleeve shoulders. These fingers' project into the sleeve interior throughthe openings 59, GB,- and GI, and are all identical and are of a form'most clearlyshown in Figures 5- and 6.

Referring to'the latter figures; the finger 62, 63, 0r64willbe's'een to have theform or a fish tail comprising vertically spaced-upperandlower portions 68 and 69. The bottom surface of portion 68 is horizontal as is alsothe top surface of portion 69 and their spacing is somewhat greater than the thickness ofthecap-fla'nge 23. Portion 68 has a surface 'Illupwardly'inclined from an edgell to provide" a wedge formation whose thickness is greater than the spaces between the flanges 23ofthestacked caps; Behind portions 68and 69, the finger hasa' bore 12 which receives the pivot pin and beyond the bore is an'open ended radial slot T3.

Reference-numeral I4 designates a ring segment slidably'and'rotatably received in groove 53 and carrying pins I5, I6 and TI which are received in'the' slots as at'13 of the several fingers, and projecting radially outwardly of the ring is a finger I8.

Mounted on top of fitting 46, Figures 1, 2 and 3, and secured thereto by means of screws threaded into openings I9; Figure 12, is a vertical magazine cylinder 89-which has a vertical access slot 8| "in'its-outer wall. The-inner surface of the magazine cylinder includesupper and lower cylindrical portions 82'a'nd' 83'separated by a shoulder 84. The diameter of portion 82 is suchas to enable it to receive a tubular'packagebf caps of the type shown in the Huntley and Han patent with the tube supported 'on'the shoulder 8421s indicated in Figure 11 of the said patent: The

'ity-of the base block -32.

than the side walls.

diameter of portion 83 is, as here shown, the same as that of the base block aperture 42 and is of a size to receive the package tube for the caps 29 shown in Figure 18, a marginal portion 85 of sleeve 46 projecting inwardly of portion 83 to provide a shoulder for the support of the package tube.

A transverse pin 86'is supported by the front part of bracket 25 and has pivotally mounted on its ends a pair of parallel bell crank levers 8i and 88 having downwardly projecting arms 89 and 99, The bell crank levers include forwardly projecting arms 9i and 92 to the ends of which are pivoted, on coaxial pins, rectangular blocks 93 and 94 slidable in'horizontal grooves defined between lateral 'ribs 95, 96 and 97, 98 on the sides of the magazine cylinder 89, the rectangular blocks having been found to serve much more effectively than the rollers shown in the Huntley and Rau patent.

Reference numeral 99 designates a platform having upstanding ears Iilii and Iill coaxially bored f'orthe pivotal-reception of a pin I92 supported in a transversebore in the outer extrem- At its inner end, the platform has extensions IIl3- and I94, Figures 7 and 17, constituting keepers of the slightly hooked form shown inFigure 3. Extensions 4i and 4I support a transverse pivot pin I for a latch yoke IUGWhOSe arms are spaced apart so as to be able to straddle the keepers 53 and I95. A pin IIl'I is rotatably mounted in the outer portions of the yoke arms and is retained against axial displacement by means of a peripheral groove I98and a pin I05, pin I0! having at one end a head IIO. Longitudinally slidable in a groove in the outer'face of the opposite yoke arm is a plunger I I i which is retained by a plate I I2 and is pressed by a spring IIS' toward ehe adjacent flat beveled end of pin I0'I,the plunger being retractible by means of a. finger H4 which by the plunger I II.

The platform 99 has side walls IItand II'I which are flat on top except for the ears I05 and MI, these Walls being bounded inwardly by'par-l allelgrooves II8 and I18 which intersect the opposite sides of an opening I20 at th thickened inner end of the block 33 and coaxial with the throat chamber, the grooves terminating in recesses I2! and I22. Aperture I25 has a cylindrical surface I23'surm0unting a downwardly flared surface E24 which serves as a guide for the bottle top. The platform 99 has a top central groove I25 which intersects the opening I25, parallel ribsIQiI and I2! being provided between the inner and outer grooves and being substantiall lower The platformhas a central slot I29.

The slide I29 is in the form of a plate provided with parallel bottom grooves I39 and I3I, Figure 11, which receive the rails lie and $2! with the top of the slide no higher than the side walls I I6 and I II. The front portion of the slidehas a sub stantially continuous topsurface I32 and has rearward'extensions I33, I34including depressed horizontal'ledges I35 and I36 with'bounding lateral "Walls 'I3'I and IBS Whichare spaced apart a distance-slightly greater .thanthe diameter of th -mate bezappliede thevtopslof theewalls bein beveled as showninEigures-I and1,10.,; .;.'Ihe:space between the :extensions is boundedforwardlymy a cross wall I39 from the lowerzportionzofrwhich projects a ledge MB whose top ,is; coplanar. with l dges 135 and 1,36. and the; latterarepnovided atitheir rear, ends with stopszl lllsrandilfl.which, togetherpwith .wall; [3 9, 1' provide three points icen-.- tering; means for; alca'p supported on the; ledges, the height of the stops being only that necessary for-,efiective action; I 12. 1 5:. 5

- Projectingdownwardly from the .orward portioniof theslide midwaybetween itslateralzedges and through slot I28 is..a stud 143:;1here'shownas tubular,i. .provided with opposite lateralropenings I44 and J45, whichi fare; elongated-2 fore. :and: aft. Surrounding the stud and guided thereby mamtary, movement is "a sleeve HHS having opposite circular openings which receive a pin I 41 with only slight clearancepctheif'ipin passingu-also through 'slots i l and IAEJr THe en-ds of pin l 41 are) in connection" with; arms 89 and 90 by'means of -'links i 48 and 149; Stud M3 serves to support the pin with capabilityf:swinging about the stud axis. Movement -of the pin by-the bell-cra'nk ing; pressure, required in the; application ofthe levers is transmitted to sleeve MS' andby the 140 and:centered'relative'to the" capping throat by-w'all' I39 and stops I4 I- and I42, its top surface is spaced below-the pressen-foot-35 adistantze slightly greater than the thickness of-"the stops. When a bottle' is now lifted into the; opening I20 and into engagement 'with the cap, thelatter will, first of all, be lifted agairist tlie-presser foot so-that'its flange willbe'above the stops. As the rise of the bottle 'continu'esthe throat carrier is liftedas a; whole so that' the bell crank levers B1 and 88 aeeswung {clockwise to 'pro ject the slide forwardly, toward theleft and also, through a link- 15!) arranged betw'een arm 90 and pin 18, to swing the ring segment 14 clockwise and, hence, the magazine fingers'also clockwise. As linger portion 88 moves-outfrom under the stack, portions 69 come beneath the stack and the latter drops ,thereon. -As-- the-slide is-prgjected forwardly toward the left, th e cap on the slide surface H2 is held against movement therewith by the extension-58 'of asleeve-'46, the lower edge of the extension lying closely adjacent. thetop of the slide Consequently, as the slidemoyes to it outeror-forward limit? Flgllrt), thedet'a'ched cap falls onto the rear supporting ledges of the slide and is centered thereon by the centering means. As the upward movement of the throat carrier is arrested through abutment with the bracket 25, the throat 34 is projected somewhat downwardly against the action of springv 36 and thereafter, the presser foot spring yields and the cap is applied. The capping pressure is considerably less than that required in applying the cap of the Huntley and Rau patent since the cap here being applied has a preformed skirt which makes unnecessar the rather severe ironrelatively flat ,c'ap. Due .to this large-reduction in the capping pressure, the compensating means for-the cradle camofrthe Stewart and Fra z pate entimay be. constituted by a simple springof suitablestrength. 1, '.-,When the cap has been applied and thebottle lowered, the throat carrier is permitted to lower so that the parts resume rest position, the .cap onfthe" rear right-hand end ledges of the .slide being brought beneath the throat, overthrowof the cap being prevented by the stops, and the magazine fingers swung counterclockwise to detach the lowermost cap from the stack and deposit it on the plane surface 132 of the slide, The return of theparts is limited by the engagement of sleeve M5 with portion d9 of the platform..- ::"Considering the described apparatus in the as pect of conversion of the Huntley and Rau head,.it will be seenthat the latter remains basically the same. The threat carrier, which is the principal piece or mechanism, is changed merely by the-in sertion of the adapter fitting, the substitution of the described form of magazine fingers, and the substitution, desirably, of the slide blocks 93 and 94 for the rollers previously used. Platform 99 with its slide, is easily substitutable for the platrcrm'of th patent and the latch means shown in the patent may be retained or the preferred latch means hereinbefore described substituted. It will be understood, however that the described apparatus is not necessarily contemplated merely from the standpoint of conversion but also from the general standpoint of a new and efiicient associationof parts in a capping head, and, further, that variations in the described'form and arrangementof parts are possible under the invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim: 1. In closure applying apparatus comprising a member providing a vertical opening of a size topass closures of a certain diameter, and re- ;cesses in-the top of said member around said opening forthe reception of oscillatory closure feeding fingers, the combination of means for adapting said apparatus for the handling of closures of smaller diameter, said means com prising an adapter in the form .of a sleeve inserted in said opening, the interior surface of said adapter sleeve including an upper portion ape i g downwardly to a lower cylindrical portion said'cylindri'cal portion having its upper end adjacent the top of said. recesses and havinga diameter slightly greater than that. of said smaller closures, apertures in said sleeve oppo'site said recesses, and oscillatory closure feeding fin.- Iger's pivo-tedin said recesses and'projecting operatively through said apertures. I

2. In closure applying apparatus comprising a memberproviding a vertical opening of a sizeto pass closures of a certain diameter, and recesses in the" top of said member around said opening for the reception of oscillatory closure feeding fingers, the combination of means for adapting said apparatus for the handling of closures of 7 smaller diameter, said means comprising an pivotedi'nsaid-recesses and projecting operatively through said apertures, said sleeve having a peripheral shoulder secured against the upper margin of said opening, the lower part of said shoulder" being provided with a rabbet to provide a groove in conjunction with said margins, and anoperating ring for said fingers rotatable in said groove.

3. Closure applying apparatus comprising a head including a forwardly positioned, vertical magazine and a throat disposed on a, vertical axis inhorizontally and rearwardly spaced relation to the magazine, means for detaching closures from the bottom of a stack in said magazine, guide means extending between the lower ends'=of said magazine and throat, a slide reciprocable in said guide means between forwardly and-rearwardly projected positions, said slide having a forward surface which in the rearwardly'projected position is adapted to receive and support a detached closure and having horizontally spaced'apart rear extensions presenting opposed ledges below the level of said surface adapted to support a closure, means restraining a closure on said forward surface from movement with the slide during forward movement of the slide so that said closure drops onto said ledges when the slide reaches the forwardly projected position, an abutment portion on the slide engaging the closure on said ledges so that said closure is carried beneath said throat when the slide is projected rearwardly, and means for reciprocating said slide and operating said detaching means in timed relation.

4. Closure applying apparatus comprising a head'including a forwardly positioned, vertical magazine and a throat disposed on a vertical axis in horizontally and rearwardly spaced relation to the magazine, means for detaching closures from the bottom of a stack in said magazine, guide means extending between the lower ends of said magazine and throat, a slide reciprocable in said guide means between forwardly and rearwardly projected positions, said slide having a forward surface which in the rearwardly projected position is adapted to receive and support a detached closure and having horizontally spaced apart rear extensions presenting opposed ledges below the level of said surface adapted to support a closure, means reguide sleeveat the lower end'of the magazine, the forward portion of said guide sleeve extending close to said slide surface and serving as'the restraining means.

6. Apparatus according to claim4 including a presser foot in said throat'normall'y spring-urged downwardly" and having a lower limit position wherein it is spaced above a closure beneath said throat a distance greater than the height of said stops;

'7. For use in closure applying apparatus, a closure transfer :slide intended for horizontal reciprocation and having at one end a closure supporting surface at one level and integral, rigid extensions at the other end including upwardly unobstructed closure supporting ledges at a lower level.

8. A slide according to'claim 7 including an abutment at the inner ends of said ledges for a closure supported thereon.

9. A slide according to claim 7 including closure centering means comprising an abutment at the innerends of said ledges and stops on the outer ends of said ledges.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a slide and guide means therefor, a stud projecting from one' iace of said slide substantially midway between the lateral edges thereof, a sleeve rotatable on said stud, a pin, said stud and sleeve being transversely apertured toreceive said-pin with capability of swinging relative to the stud but not to said sleeve, and operating arms engaging the ends of said pin.

11: Apparatus according to claim 10 including a stop on'said guide means engageable by Said sleeve to limit travel of the slide in one direction.

12. Apparatus 0f the class described comprising a bracket, a throat carrier supported from the bracket for vertical reciprocation, a vertical closure magazine supported by the carrier, a horizontal slide for transferring closures from the magazine toapplying position, slide actuating means comprising a pair of parallel bell crank levers pivotally supported from the bracket on a horizontal axis and having downwardly projecting arms in operative connection with the slide and outwardly projecting arms straddling the magazine, horizontal grooves on the magazine, and rectangular blocks pivoted to the lastmentioned arms and 'slidable in said grooves.

STANLEY W. DENNIS; EDGAR HENSCHEN.

REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I Name Date 985,008 Cooper Feb. 21, 1911 9%,456' Gray June 6, 1911 1,069,948 r, Hartwig Aug.- 12, 1913 1,956,218' Huntley et a1. Apr. 24, 1934 

